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San Francisco passes law requiring contractors to pay street cleaners prevailing wage

San Francisco passes law requiring contractors to pay street cleaners prevailing wage

Rule Changes San Francisco, CA local

Measure targets private 'street ambassador' industry forged in SF's drug crisis

September 23rd, 2026: Board of Supervisors passes the Act

Overview

Updated Sep 23

San Francisco's Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to require private street-cleaning contractors to match the wages the city pays its own employees. The Clean Streets and Fair Pay Act targets the 'street ambassador' industry that expanded rapidly as the city outsourced cleanup of visible drug use and homelessness.

Contractor employees now earn $52,000 to $62,400 a year, while city-employed street inspectors can make up to $134,000 plus benefits. The law's fate now rests with Mayor Daniel Lurie, who has credited these contractors with improving street conditions and has not commented on the measure.

Why it matters

If the law stands, street cleaners in San Francisco could see pay nearly double, and the city's private ambassador industry faces an existential shift.

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Key Indicators

$62,400
Top ambassador annual pay
Contractor employees currently earn between $52,000 and $62,400; city employees can make up to $134,000.
$134,000
City inspector max annual pay
Plus overtime and benefits that add tens of thousands more, per Transparent California data.
$32M
City contracts awarded December 2025
Five organizations got $32M total to respond to homelessness, drug use, violence, and trash.
$84.9M
Urban Alchemy 2024 revenue
The largest ambassador contractor reported $84.9M in revenue in 2024, up sharply since launching in 2021.

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People Involved

Myrna Melgar
Myrna Melgar
San Francisco Supervisor, District 7
Author of the Clean Streets and Fair Pay Act
 Daniel Lurie
Daniel Lurie
Mayor of San Francisco
Has not commented on the legislation; decision on signing or vetoing pending
 Dolores Huerta
Dolores Huerta
Civil rights advocate, co-founder of United Farm Workers
Publicly supported the legislation

Organizations Involved

Urban Alchemy
Urban Alchemy
Nonprofit street ambassador organization
One of five contractors affected by the new law

Nonprofit that hires formerly incarcerated and homeless people as street ambassadors to monitor public spaces.
Ahsing Solutions
Ahsing Solutions
For-profit street ambassador contractor
One of five contractors affected by the new law

For-profit organization contracted by the city to address the drug crisis in the Mission district.
Laborers International Union Local 261
Laborers International Union Local 261
Labor union
Supports the Clean Streets and Fair Pay Act

Union representing employees of San Francisco's Department of Public Works.
San Francisco Department of Emergency Management (DEM)
San Francisco Department of Emergency Management (DEM)
City agency
Awarded the contracts the new law regulates

City agency that manages emergency response and coordinates the street ambassador program.
San Francisco Board of Supervisors
San Francisco Board of Supervisors
City legislative body
Passed the Clean Streets and Fair Pay Act

Governing body of San Francisco, responsible for municipal legislation.

Timeline

January 2021 September 2026

6 events Latest: September 23rd, 2026 · 2 months ago
Tap a bar to jump to that date

  1. Board of Supervisors passes the Act

    Latest Legislation

    Clean Streets and Fair Pay Act approved; prevailing wage requirement now heads to Mayor Lurie.

  2. Melgar introduces Clean Streets and Fair Pay Act

    Legislation

    Supervisor proposes requiring street-cleaning contractors to match city employee wages.

  3. The Standard profiles Ahsing Solutions

    Investigation

    Reporting raises ethics and effectiveness concerns about the for-profit ambassador contractor in the Mission.

  4. City awards $32M in ambassador contracts

    Policy

    Department of Emergency Management signs five organizations to respond to homelessness, drug use, violence, and trash.

  5. Urban Alchemy ambassador killed in shooting

    Incident

    Man allegedly used a shotgun to kill an ambassador who asked him to move; third worker shot since launch.

  6. Urban Alchemy launches SF ambassador program

    Milestone

    Nonprofit begins hiring formerly incarcerated people to monitor street corners and clean sidewalks.

Scenarios

1

Lurie signs Clean Streets and Fair Pay Act into law

Deadline passed (Oct 15, 2026)

Discussed by: Supporters including Laborers International Union Local 261 and Supervisor Melgar

Mayor Lurie signs the bill, and the prevailing wage requirement applies to future street-cleaning contracts. Contractors like Urban Alchemy and Ahsing Solutions must either raise wages to city levels or likely lose contracts to city departments that can perform the work at comparable cost. The shift could bring street cleaning workers into unionized city employment.

2

Lurie vetoes; Board override attempt fails

Possible Resolves by Dec 1, 2026

Discussed by: Observers who note Lurie's office credited contractors with improving street conditions

Lurie vetoes the bill to protect his administration's contractor strategy. The Board of Supervisors could attempt a two-thirds override (8 of 11 votes). The vote margin on passage would determine the odds; if the Act passed narrowly, the override likely fails and the law dies.

3

Contractors exit; street cleaning moves in-house

Possible Resolves by Jun 1, 2027

Discussed by: Analysts noting state law (2021 Elk Grove ruling) already requires prevailing wages for street sweeping

Facing higher wage bills, one or more of the five December 2025 contractors exit the street-cleaning market or decline to renew contracts. The city then brings the work in-house, increasing municipal payroll but eliminating the two-tier wage system.

Historical Context

3 moments from history that rhyme with this story — and how they unfolded.

October 2021

California DIR Elk Grove ruling (2021)

California's Department of Industrial Relations ruled that street sweeping for the City of Elk Grove constituted 'public work' requiring prevailing wages, reversing a 2005 decision that had exempted such work for Santa Clarita.

Then

Expanded prevailing wage coverage to many municipal street sweeping contracts in California.

Now

Established legal precedent that street sweeping for public entities counts as public works, strengthening wage enforcement efforts statewide.

Why this matters now

The SF law builds directly on this precedent, applying the same logic to private street-cleaning contracts under the city's ambassador program.

June 1990

Justice for Janitors campaign (1990)

Thousands of immigrant janitors in Los Angeles went on strike under SEIU against building contractors paying minimum wage. Police beat peaceful marchers, drawing national outrage and media attention to the outsourcing of cleaning work.

Then

Won union recognition and higher wages for contracted janitors in LA, then spread to other cities.

Now

Established that workers employed by private contractors can organize and win wages comparable to direct employees.

Why this matters now

Like the janitors, SF's street ambassadors work for private contractors rather than the city; the campaign shows precedent for winning prevailing wages through organizing and policy.

February 2023-present

Sweeping Corporation of America lawsuit (2023)

Street sweeper operators sued Sweeping Corporation of America, the nation's largest municipal street sweeping company, in Santa Clara County Superior Court for unpaid prevailing wages. The case covers work from February 2019 onward.

Then

The lawsuit is pending, seeking back wages plus penalties.

Now

Demonstrates active enforcement of prevailing wage requirements in the street sweeping industry in California.

Why this matters now

The lawsuit shows legal precedent for prevailing wage enforcement exists in street sweeping, supporting the SF law's approach.

Sources

(3)
Mission Local The Standard Pelton Graham